Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday said the Left government's statement that the Centre denied it permission for foreign aid for flood relief was "incorrect and misleading", reports PTI.
In a Facebook post, Chandrasekhar quoted his party colleague and Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Minority Affairs to make the statement.
According to his post, Kurian has said that the Pinarayi Vijayan government was "deliberately spreading misinformation about foreign assistance to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund".
Kurian said that the Kerala government was claiming it was denied permission, but not Maharashtra, according to the post.
"Maharashtra received the approval due to a recent policy change. Kerala, too, would be granted permission if it were to apply now. Making baseless allegations without understanding the facts is nothing more than political propaganda," Chandrasekhar's post said, quoting the Union Minister.
The Left government in Kerala had on Sunday accused the BJP-ruled Centre of political bias by claiming that Maharashtra was allowed to accept foreign aid while the same was denied to the southern state during the 2018 floods.
State Finance Minister K N Balagopal had said that Kerala has no objection to Maharashtra receiving foreign assistance for relief efforts. However, he criticised the Union government for what he called "discriminatory treatment" between states.
The state finance minister's sharp reaction came in the wake of reports that the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund has been accorded a licence under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, making it eligible to receive foreign funding.
As per the law, all associations and NGOs receiving foreign contributions are required to be registered under the FCRA.
The chief minister's relief fund provides financial assistance to people affected by major natural calamities like floods, droughts, fire accidents, etc.
It also provides financial assistance to economically weaker sections for the treatment of major diseases.